Friday, 28 June 2024

110+ Mindblowing SEO Statistics and Trends in 2024 (Ultimate List)

When it comes to optimizing our websites for getting more traffic, we always look at the latest SEO trends and data for inspiration.

Search engines are the most common way users discover information online, and strong SEO helps your website rank higher in the search results. However, SEO is constantly changing, and it can be tricky to keep up with the latest developments.

That’s why we have done the research and found the latest SEO statistics and trends to help you get your website seen by more people.

Mindblowing SEO Statistics and Trends

The Ultimate List of SEO Statistics

Here are the top SEO statistics we will be covering in this article. You can use the quick links below to skip to your preferred topic:

Key SEO Statistics About the Impact of SEO

Let’s dive into some eye-opening SEO statistics that show the power of search engine optimization for your online presence.

1. Google holds 90.5% of the global search engine market share.

Google holds 90.5% of the global search engine market share.

The vast majority of people searching for information online are using Google, even if other search engines are on the rise. 

For a website or blog owner, this means that optimizing your site for Google search is the single most effective way to reach your target audience. By ranking higher in Google’s search results (SERPs), you significantly increase your chances of people finding your website.

For details on how to do this, you can see our complete WordPress SEO guide.

2. The #1 position in Google’s organic search results has the highest average click-through rate (27.6%.)

In simpler terms, nearly one-third of searchers click on the first result on search engine results pages (SERPs). For a WordPress site owner, this highlights the importance of a strong SEO strategy. 

Thankfully, the process isn’t as complicated as it might seem. As long as you create valuable content for your audience, take care of technical SEO, and improve your user experience regularly, you’re on the right path.

Better yet, WordPress plugins like All in One SEO (AIOSEO) make it easier than ever to make your website search engine-friendly. It has tools to check how well-optimized your content is. The plugin can also tell you if there are issues that can prevent search engines from indexing your website.

All in One SEO

To learn more, check out our AIOSEO review.

3. For every dollar spent on PPC, you could spend approximately $2.67 on SEO and achieve a significantly higher return on investment.

While PPC (pay-per-click advertising) might bring you immediate traffic, it requires ongoing spending. On the other hand, SEO efforts, when done well, deliver long-term benefits not just for brand awareness but also for conversions.

For expert tips, you can check out our guide on how to double your SEO traffic in 6 months. Here, Benjamin Rojas (President of AIOSEO) shares his key success stories on increasing organic traffic.

4. 70% of SEO experts think new AI search features will make people use search engines even more. 

Google now offers AI overviews, which use artificial intelligence to generate a summary that answers a user’s question.

While this feature will make things much easier for searchers, some experts think it may harm websites that rely heavily on organic search traffic. 

To prepare your website for this feature, you can check out our beginner’s guide to Google’s AI overviews.

Google AI Overviews Example

More General SEO Statistics

  • 29% of marketers use search-optimized websites and blogs to attract new customers.
  • 65% of SEO experts say that Google’s search engine algorithm updates have actually helped their websites get more traffic and rank higher.
  • Out of the top 1 million websites with the most visitors, over 25% are built using WordPress.org.
  • All in One SEO, a popular SEO plugin for WordPress, has been used by over 3 million websites.
  • On desktop computers, 25% of searches end without someone clicking on a result. In contrast, 17% of mobile searches don’t lead to a click.
  • Every second, Google handles roughly 99,000 searches, which adds up to 8.5 billion daily searches.
  • Globally, Bing has the second-highest search engine market share at 3.72%, followed by Yandex (1.58%) and Yahoo (1.19%).
  • SEO delivers a higher conversion rate (2.4%) compared to PPC ads (1.3%).
  • 9 out of 10 keywords that people enter into search engines are long tail.

SEO Ranking and CTR: Stats and Best Practices

Now that you understand the power of SEO, let’s dive into some top statistics that can help you climb search engine rankings and improve your click-through rate (CTR).

Including relevant keywords in your content is one of the most important SEO ranking factors. However, the days of simply stuffing keywords into your content are long gone.

To effectively add related keywords to your content, you can use tools like our free WPBeginner keyword generator. This can identify relevant keywords that your target audience is searching for, and then you can add those keywords naturally into your content.

What WPBeginner's Keyword Generator Tool looks like when analyzing the keyword WordPress SEO

Another great tool to use is LowFruits. This platform uses Google’s autocomplete data to find keywords that you can easily rank for. Not only will it help you discover what users are actively searching for, but you can also identify gaps in your competitor’s content strategy.

For more information, check out our guide on how to do keyword research for a WordPress blog.

LowFruits keyword finder tool
A web page ranking #1 for a specific keyword can rank in the top 10 for nearly 1,000 other related keywords.

This is what usually happens when you create an informative piece that touches on many different, related topics. 

That said, this doesn’t mean you need to create super long content. Instead, focus on creating a valuable and informative guide that answers a broad range of user questions related to your topic.

For example, you can look at our ultimate guide to speed up and boost WordPress performance. This piece is like a blueprint for how you can make your website quicker, but it doesn’t go into every topic in detail. Instead, it links to a bunch of different articles that explain the tips more in-depth. 

WPBeginner's article on how to boost WordPress speed and performance

To discover related keywords that your existing content might be ranking for, check out our guide on how to see the keywords people use to find your WordPress blog

7. Aiming for a 3% click-through rate is considered a good goal for SEO.

While ranking number one in search results is the ultimate SEO goal, it can be a competitive battle. That’s why focusing on CTR can be a powerful strategy.

Start by crafting compelling SEO titles or headlines and meta descriptions that entice users to click on your website.

AIOSEO has a headline analyzer tool to evaluate your post’s headline and offer tips to make it better. The ChatGPT integration can even automatically generate headline suggestions to speed up the process.

AIOSEO SEO Headline Analyzer

A featured snippet is a Google SERP feature that aims to directly answer a user’s query, like this:

Answer box example on google

So, how can you optimize your content for a featured snippet? AIOSEO can help, as the plugin offers built-in Schema.org markup support. 

Schema.org is a structured data vocabulary that search engines like Google use to understand the meaning and context of your content. 

By adding schema markup through AIOSEO, you can increase the chances of your website content appearing as a featured snippet, leading to more clicks and website visitors.

To learn more about this SEO tactic, check out our comprehensive guide on how to get a Google featured snippet for your WordPress website.

More SEO Ranking Factors and CTR Stats

  • It takes around 5 months for new content to start ranking on the first page of Google.
  • Moving up even one position in search results can increase your CTR by 2.8%.
  • Beyond keywords, 53% of SEO experts believe that creating high-quality content is the most effective way to improve rankings. This is followed by addressing user questions (38%) and incorporating visuals (33%).
  • Optimizing your pages for long-tail keywords can improve search rankings by an average of 11 positions, compared to just 5 positions for broader keywords.
  • Targeting longer, more specific keywords (10-15 words) can lead to 1.76 times more clicks compared to single-word terms.
  • Including a relevant keyword in your permalinks can increase the CTR by up to 45%.
  • 30% of people click on featured snippets because they find the displayed text helpful.
  • 24% of searchers avoid clicking on featured snippets because they mistake them for advertisements.
  • ‘People also ask’ boxes below search results only receive about 6% of all clicks.

Here, we will explore some interesting statistics and trends that can guide your content creation strategy and boost your website’s organic search presence.

9. 55% of SEOs found that consistently creating and publishing high-quality content can significantly improve a website’s overall rankings. 

In other words, you cannot just publish one piece of content and expect it to rank right away.

If you don’t have the manpower to support your content creation, then AI writing assistants such as ContentShake AI can be a huge help.

We also have a helpful guide on how to write using an AI content generator to get started.

Alternatively, we also offer WordPress SEO services if you want to skip all of the hard work and just let the experts do the job. Our services include content creation and website optimization to boost your organic website traffic. 

10. 61% of highly successful companies in SEO regularly audit their existing content at least 2x a year.

61% of highly successful companies regularly SEO audit their existing content at least 2x a year.

The same study also found that 50% of companies do content audits when their existing content becomes outdated. Meanwhile, 39% do it as a preventative measure, proactively identifying potential issues before they affect rankings.

If you’re new to content audits, check out our WordPress SEO audit checklist for step-by-step guidance.

11. An Ahrefs study found no correlation between rankings and the use of content optimization tools.

In other words, these tools might offer helpful suggestions for keywords and questions to answer. However, you know your audience best, and you should focus on creating content for them. 

That said, don’t disregard these tools completely. We’ve found these platforms to be a huge help in analyzing our competitors and creating content briefs.

For example, we’ve been using SEOBoost, an on-page SEO platform that can help you optimize your content.

Content Optimization feature in SEOBoost

What we do is simply enter the focus keyphrase of our blog post and the tool will show some keyword suggestions and ‘People also ask’ questions to include in the content.

Of course, we still have to take into account what our audience wants out of the content. That said, the tool has helped point out what information gaps we need to cover to offer more value for our readers.

12. Google rewrites meta descriptions 62.78% of the time.

While this might seem discouraging, this doesn’t mean you should give up on meta descriptions altogether.

A clear and compelling description can still entice users to click on your website in search results. Plus, a well-written meta description can help Google understand your content and potentially display it in relevant search queries.

If you use AIOSEO, you can easily enter your meta description in the block editor. The plugin will also let you know if the description is too long, too short, or missing your focus keyphrase. 

Adding focus keyphrase in meta description

More SEO Content Marketing Statistics

  • ‘Everything You Need to Know’ posts perform the best for pageviews and time spent on page, but they make up only a tiny fraction (around 0.4% to 0.8%) of all content online.
  • 27% of high-performing content is less than a month old.
  • 47% of respondents in an SEO survey believe that researching their target audience is crucial for content marketing success.
  • Articles with lists containing at least 4 entries and 7 or more images tend to perform better for unique views, shares, and backlinks.
  • 24% of high-performing content marketers publish one article daily.
  • 33% of high-performing content has fairly easy readability
  • 5% of high-performing articles feature data visualizations or studies.
  • Only 4% of articles contain a mix of H2s, H3s, and H4s, even though these pieces have the best SEO performance.
  • Title tags with 40-60 characters have the highest CTR.
  • Titles with a positive sentiment can lead to a 4% improvement in CTRs.

Data-Driven Results About Off-Page SEO

Backlinks are one of Google’s top three ranking factors, and for good reason.

Here’s how off-page SEO, specifically backlinks, can significantly impact your website’s organic search performance.

The page ranking #1 on Google typically has 3.8 times more backlinks compared to other pages for the same search query.

This indicates that search engines view websites with high-quality backlinks as more trustworthy and relevant.

What can you do?

We recommend focusing first on creating high-quality content that others will find valuable and informative enough to link to. This is the foundation of a successful link-building strategy.

Backlinks from relevant, reputable websites hold more weight with search engines than links from low-quality or irrelevant sources. These sites usually have a high domain authority or domain rating, which means a site’s potential reputation on search engines.

To find out a website’s domain authority, you can use Semrush. This tool has a Domain Overview feature that shows a domain’s authority score. The higher the number, the better the domain authority.

Domain authority in Semrush

By creating informative guest posts with a link back to your website, you can expand your reach, attract new visitors, and potentially earn valuable backlinks.

One thing to note about this marketing strategy is that Google frowns upon guest posting just for the sake of link building.

They prefer it if you build meaningful relationships with other guest bloggers. Plus, you should create high-quality guest posts that offer genuine value to the audience.

  • 52.3% of digital marketers say that link building is the most challenging aspect of SEO.
  • Even with a strong domain rating of over 70, you can expect to wait around 6 months for new content to reach the first page of search results.
  • 92.3% of top-ranking domains have at least one backlink.
  • Long-form content typically attracts 77.2% more backlinks compared to shorter articles.
  • ‘Why’ and ‘What’ posts, along with infographics, receive 25.8% more links compared to videos and ‘How-to’ articles.
  • ‘Feeler’ emails (brief introductory messages to gauge interest) can increase outreach conversion rates by over 40%.
  • It takes an average of 8 days for an outreach email to convert into a backlink and 3.1 months for the impact of links on search rankings to be noticeable.
  • Agencies have the highest number of experienced link builders, with 59.4% having over 5 years of experience.
  • Only 17.7% of link builders use digital PR to acquire links, even though digital PR links are considered higher in quality.
  • Agencies and in-house SEOs are 3x more likely to do digital PR.

Mobile SEO Statistics: How Mobile Optimization Affects Rankings

Optimizing your website for smartphones and tablets is no longer optional – it’s essential. Here are some compelling mobile SEO statistics that prove this point.

16. Over 54% of all website traffic now comes from mobile phones.

Over 54% of all website traffic now comes from mobile phones.

This means that if your website isn’t mobile-friendly, you’re missing out on over half of your potential audience. 

So, make sure your website uses a responsive theme that adapts seamlessly to different screen sizes and devices.

You can also see our guide on how to make your website mobile-friendly.

17. Smartphone users are 5 times more likely to leave a website with a poor user experience.

If your website is difficult to navigate, then you’re at risk of losing potential customers. Plus, Google might think people aren’t enjoying being on your website, which can hurt your search engine rankings.

One way to improve your mobile experience is to use a clear and easy-to-use mobile navigation menu. Our article on how to create a mobile-ready responsive WordPress menu can show you how to do this.

If your website displays many images, then you should also consider using a plugin like Envira Gallery. This plugin can create responsive image galleries that adapt to various screen sizes.

More Mobile Search Statistics

  • 50% of a mobile phone screen is covered by a featured snippet. This means mobile internet users may not even find your page if you don’t get a featured snippet.
  • Websites have a higher bounce rate on mobile devices (59.74%) compared to desktops (49.80%).
  • Mobile visitors account for 233% more unique visits than desktop users.
  • 55.25% of eCommerce sales now happen on mobile devices.
  • 61% of consumers are more likely to purchase from websites that offer a seamless mobile experience.
  • Users spend 40% less time on websites they discover through mobile devices.
  • 52% of users report that a negative mobile experience makes them less likely to engage with a company.

Technical SEO Statistics to Improve User Experience

Technical SEO is all about optimizing the technical parts of your website to improve its performance and user experience. Here are some key statistics to consider.

18. 72.6% of pages on the first page of Google have schema markup.

Schema markup can provide search engines with additional information about your content, such as recipes, events, products, and more. 

This can help search engines understand your content better and potentially display richer search results, leading to improved click-through rates.

An example of a featured recipe snippet, in Google

If you want to use schema on your website, then check out our list of the best schema markup plugins for WordPress.

19. A news website reduced its bounce rate by 43% by improving its Core Web Vitals (CWV).

Core Web Vitals (CWV) is a set of metrics that measure the technical performance of a web page, focusing on loading speed, responsiveness, and visual stability. 

A website with good CWV offers a smoother user experience, which can lead to lower bounce rates and increased user engagement. That’s why Google prioritizes these sites on SERPs.

One way to identify performance issues on your site is to use the SEO Audit Checklist feature in AIOSEO. It can identify performance issues on your website and provide recommendations for improvement.

Performance analysis in AIOSEO

Also, consider using a caching plugin like WP Rocket. Caching plugins store website content and serve it faster to users, potentially improving website loading speed and user experience.

Pro Tip: Want to speed up your WordPress website without all the hassle? Let our WordPress Site Optimization experts take care of everything!

20. 3xx redirects are the most common technical SEO issue (affecting 95.2% of websites).

A 3xx redirect indicates that a web page has been moved to a new location. While redirects are necessary in some cases, excessive or broken redirects can negatively impact user experience and SEO.

With AIOSEO, setting up redirects is a breeze – no technical expertise needed. Simply enter the source URL (the old URL), the target URL (the new URL), and the redirect type. 

You can learn more about this topic on how to create redirects in WordPress.

Enter Source URL and Target URL

More Technical SEO Statistics

  • Pages with schema markup see a 40% higher CTR in search results.
  • A landing page increased sales by 8% after improving its Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) score by 31%. (LCP measures how fast the largest element on your page loads).
  • An Ahrefs study showed that adding a ‘related posts’ section to your website can increase the time users spend on a page and the number of pages they view overall.
  • Studies show that for every second reduction in Time to Interactive (TTI), conversion rates increase by 2.8%. (TTI measures how long it takes for a page to become fully interactive).

eCommerce SEO Statistics Business Owners Must Know

Even though eCommerce has evolved, SEO remains an essential marketing strategy for any business owner. Let’s take a look at some important SEO statistics for eCommerce stores.

21. Organic search is the top source of traffic for most eCommerce websites.

This means that appearing at the top of search results for relevant keywords can significantly impact your online sales.

Besides creating visually appealing product pages, make sure to optimize them with relevant keywords and informative content targeting user search intent.

WooCommerce site owners can check out our WooCommerce SEO guide for more information.

22. The average conversion rate for SEO traffic on eCommerce sites (1.6%) is higher than from PPC advertising (1.3%)

Organic traffic continues to be more valuable and cost-effective in driving sales compared to paid advertising. 

To increase your chances of converting users into customers, we recommend using tools like OptinMonster. This can help you run marketing campaign popups on your site (like discounts or loyalty programs) to increase conversion rates.

For more information, see our guide on how to convert WooCommerce visitors into customers.

23. 49% of consumers would switch to a competitor offering a positive privacy experience.

User experience is a huge SEO ranking factor, and data privacy plays a major role in it.

If you haven’t already, be sure to make your WordPress site GDPR-compliant to protect user privacy.

If you use Google Analytics, then we recommend installing MonsterInsights. This analytics plugin has an EU compliance addon that can make your analytics settings compliant with privacy laws. 

More eCommerce SEO Statistics

  • Transactional and commercial keywords have become more popular in recent years, while informational and navigational searches are declining.
  • 38% of global shoppers use Google to discover new products.
  • 80% of holiday shoppers browse online before making a purchase.
  • 73% of shoppers expect brands to understand their unique needs, emphasizing the need for personalized shopping experiences to win over customers.
  • 79% of global consumers are concerned about data protection and privacy.

Video content is a powerful tool for online businesses, and its impact on SEO is undeniable. Here are some video SEO statistics that you must know.

24. YouTube is the second-most visited website globally.

If it makes sense for your business, we recommend creating a dedicated YouTube channel for your brand. Besides educating your audience, you can use the channel to drive traffic to your website and build your industry authority.

We have a full guide on how to start a successful YouTube channel for your business with step-by-step guidance.

25. Articles with at least one video can generate 70% more organic traffic than those without.

Articles with at least one video can generate 70% more organic traffic than those without.

Some users are more visual learners than others. They may learn better when someone is explaining a topic directly to them rather than reading about it alone. 

Whenever possible, consider adding short, informative videos to your product pages, blog posts, and other website content.

While we don’t recommend hosting videos directly on your WordPress site, you can still upload them to sites like YouTube or Vimeo. Then, just embed the videos on your pages and posts.

This lets you add videos to your site without burdening your server resources.

More Video Search Statistics and Trends

  • Video content makes up 25.3% of a SERP.
  • Search results containing video content have a 41% higher CTR than text-only results.
  • 45% of content marketing professionals say video content outperforms written content.
  • Gen Z audiences find YouTube more helpful for finding detailed information (49%), feeling well-informed (49%), and making purchase decisions with confidence (48%).
  • According to Google, over 2 billion logged-in users watch YouTube Shorts each month.
  • The average YouTube viewing session lasts nearly 36 minutes.
  • 75% of consumers are more likely to watch a video than read text content.
  • Viewers can retain 95% of the information presented in a video compared to only 10% when reading text.
  • 80% of users switch between online search and video content while researching products or services.

Top Local SEO Stats for Small Businesses

Does your business have a physical location? A strong local SEO online presence can help you attract customers searching for businesses in your area.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the latest local search stats.

26. Google is the platform that consumers trust most for local business reviews across all industries.

The great thing about a Google Business Profile is it’s completely free. All you need to do is sign up or claim an existing profile as your own. Then, you can start entering some information about your business.

If you use AIOSEO, then you can add your business address on your website there, too. The plugin will then add Schema markup to it so that Google understands this information better.

For more information, check out our ultimate local SEO guide on how to set up a Google Business listing. 

Example of Google Business Profile

27. The #1 local pack position in a search query has the highest CTR compared to other results, even paid ads. 

Local packs are the top three businesses with Google Maps presence featured in a search query. The more relevant your business is to the search query, the more likely it is to show up high on that SERP feature.

Again, completing your Google Business profile is key to gaining a high ranking in the local packs. In addition, you may want to encourage customers to leave reviews about your business so that Google thinks you’re gaining popularity. 

This will be useful not only for local SEO but also for social proof. You can show Google reviews on your website as customer testimonials

Example of Google listing the top-rated cafes in their SERPs

28. 77% of consumers use at least two review platforms when researching businesses.

Google Business Profiles are important, but Google isn’t the only review platform you should pay attention to. Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Trustpilot are all big names in the consumer review scene, and social media plays a big role, too.

If your business has many positive reviews on those other platforms, people are more likely to consider your brand reputable.

Note that consistency is important when you have a presence on multiple review platforms. Make sure your business name, address, and phone number are all the same to avoid confusion.

More Stats About SEO for Local Businesses

  • Businesses with a complete Google Business Profile are 70% more likely to get in-store visits and 50% more likely to convince people to purchase.
  • 88% of consumers are more likely to choose a business that responds to all its reviews, compared to only 47% for businesses that don’t.
  • 58% of consumers prefer an AI-written review response over a human-written one.
  • Customers are 2.7x more likely to view your business as reputable if they see a complete Google Business profile.
  • 98% of people rely on online reviews for local businesses.
  • Local news citations have increased as a review source by 8%.
  • 96% of users find the ‘search reviews’ function on Google Maps helpful.
  • Globally, Google Maps searches for ‘shopping near me’ have more than doubled year-over-year.
  • Companies with higher Yelp ratings show up more in Apple’s Siri replies.

Stats About Voice Search: How Many People Actually Use It?

Voice search is rapidly changing how people interact with search engines. Let’s look at some statistics that show its impact.

29. 50% of US consumers report using voice search every single day.

One way to prepare for voice search is to optimize your website content for natural language search queries. How would people say their search questions about your products or services?

You can also take a look at our article on how to add voice search capability to WordPress for more information.

Nearly 68% of clicks from voice searches come from the top 5 results on SERPs, while over 40% of voice search results include featured snippets.

This suggests that optimizing your website for traditional SEO helps you out with voice search as well. So, you don’t necessarily need a completely separate strategy for voice search.

  • 71% of internet users prefer voice search over typing.
  • 27% of users visit a website directly after a voice search.
  • Amazon Alexa dominates the smart speaker market in the US.
  • The voice recognition market is projected to reach $26.8 billion by 2025.
  • Voice search results are delivered 52% significantly faster than traditional text-based searches.
  • Websites with structured data markup are featured in over 34% of voice search results. 
  • 48% of smart speaker owners crave personalized recommendations and information from brands through voice search.
  • 76% of voice searches are for local products, services, or businesses nearby.

SEO Industry Stats: Job Trends and Income

SEO is an important part of digital marketing, so it’s no wonder the industry is thriving. Below are some key statistics about the job outlook and income in SEO.

31. Only 25% of companies have in-house SEO specialists, while 27% outsource their SEO needs.

Only 25% of companies have in-house SEO specialists, while 27% outsource their SEO needs.

This highlights a significant talent gap in the SEO industry, suggesting a strong demand for skilled professionals.

If you’re new to SEO, you can check out our WordPress SEO checklist for beginners to get started. 

That being said, if you prefer leaving the hard work to SEO experts, we suggest outsourcing to our WordPress SEO services. Our team can handle on-page, off-page, and technical SEO aspects to ensure your website has the best chance at ranking.

32. Self-employed SEOs earn the most annually on average ($60,232).

Still, it’s definitely possible to make a living wage as an SEO freelancer. You can be your own boss, set your own work hours, and work anywhere in the world. You can use WordPress job sites to find clients and get started. 

On the other hand, the annual salary for in-house roles was slightly lower at $56,789. Those who work in SEO agencies had the lowest amount at $44,169. 

33. 84% of bloggers say AI and automation have impacted their SEO strategy.

AI tools like ChatGPT don’t remove the need for human expertise in content creation. Instead, they streamline repetitive tasks like research and initial content generation. 

This frees up valuable time for bloggers to focus on the strategic aspects of SEO, like planning high-quality content and ensuring it aligns with user intent. 

To learn more, you can check out our article on whether AI content is bad for SEO.

More SEO Industry Statistics

  • The projected growth rate for SEO strategists is 117%.
  • Most SEO experts learn on the job (52.3%) or through self-study (42.3%).
  • Only 5.4% of SEO marketers learned SEO through a formal course.
  • 80% of highly successful content marketing companies have a documented strategy. However, most spend only around 10% of their marketing budget on content creation.
  • The median annual salary for SEO experts is $49,211.
  • Technical SEO expertise is crucial for higher-paying SEO roles. In a survey, Heads of SEO, SEO Directors, and SEO Leads identify technical SEO as their primary specialization. 
  • Marketers have mixed feelings about AI’s impact on SEO, with 44% believing it will be positive, 51% predicting no impact, and 5% fearing a negative impact.
  • 49.5% of SEO professionals work in agencies, 42.3% work in-house at companies, and 8.2% are self-employed.

Sources:

Ahrefs, All in One SEO, AuthorityHacker, Backlinko, BrightLocal, ContentCreatures, Embryo, EngineScout, First Page Sage, G2, Grow and Convert, HubSpot, Lumar, Schema App, Semrush, StatCounter, TechCrunch, Think with Google, WebFX, Wolfgang Digital, and web.dev.

We hope this ultimate list of SEO statistics can help you with your own SEO strategy.

If you are looking for more interesting stats and trends, here are other articles you can check out:

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Thursday, 27 June 2024

WPBeginner Spotlight 01 – Plugin Acquisitions, New Features + More WordPress News

In the month of June 2024, we’ve seen a lot of exciting developments in the WordPress community.

From AIOSEO plugin acquiring the LowFruits keyword tool to the WordPress core team releasing the beta version of WordPress 6.6, the list goes on.

And that’s just a couple of the stories we have uncovered this month.

Read on for the latest WordPress news from this month’s edition of WPBeginner Spotlight.

This is a new monthly series called WPBeginner Spotlight, where we will be covering all the behind-the-scenes news from the world of WordPress.

Have any big WordPress news that you’d like to see in next month’s column, like a new WordPress brand acquisition, merger, or a flagship feature release? Then, please use our contact form to share it with us.

Top WordPress news for June 2024 with WPBeginner Spotlight

All in One SEO for WordPress Acquires LowFruits Keyword Tool

The popular WordPress SEO plugin All in One SEO for WordPress has acquired LowFruits, a popular keyword research tool.

Ben Rojas, President of All in One SEO, described the acquisition in his announcement post in the following words:

Recognizing the challenges of finding keywords that you can rank for and drive qualified traffic, we spent over a year exploring various ways to improve keyword research for our users.

After careful consideration, it became evident that acquiring LowFruits was the best solution to offer a comprehensive, user-friendly tool that addresses this need.

Ben Rojas – President of AIOSEO

LowFruits is a keyword research tool that helps users find low-competition keywords to rank for easily and drive more traffic to their websites.

LowFruits keyword finder tool

LowFruits will continue to operate independently, maintaining its unique features and functionality. This means that users won’t necessarily need to use All in One SEO for WordPress to benefit from LowFruits.

However, the All in One SEO team believes that combining both tools will give their customers a competitive advantage in search rankings.

LowFruits offers two pricing plans: a ‘Pay as you go’ plan and a subscription plan for $249/year.

WPCode Launches a Free Search & Replace Plugin for WordPress

Popular code snippets plugin, WPCode, launched a free Search & Replace Everything plugin for WordPress.

Our founder, Syed Balkhi, shared more details in a blog post here at WPBeginner.

Search & Replace Everything is a comprehensive tool that allows you to search and replace things easily in WordPress.

Instead of writing complex SQL queries, people can work with a simple user interface to enter what they want to find and what to replace it with.

Search and Replace Everything UI

The plugin then shows users a preview of items it found matching their search term and how they would look after they have been replaced.

Users can limit their search to specific database tables. It is quite fast and is designed to efficiently handle database operations on larger websites. Plus, users can also use the Search & Replace Everything Plugin to replace an image in their WordPress media library with a different image.

There is a free version of plugin available on WordPress.org, but it also has a paid plan (Starting at $29/year). This gives you access to additional features, such as historical data and the ability to undo an action.

WordPress.com Launches Studio for Windows

Earlier this year, WordPress.com launched Studio for MacOS, a local WordPress development environment.

Recently, they also launched Studio for Windows.

WordPress.com Studio

As a local development environment, Studio makes it easy to create and develop WordPress sites on your computer (localhost). It is open-source software available on GitHub and can be forked easily.

While using Studio, users can optionally sign into their WordPress.com account and easily share their sites with clients and team members. These demo sites are temporary and deleted after seven days.

Users can also export their local site and then import it into any WordPress hosting plan using tools like Duplicator.

WordCamp Asia and WordCamp Europe Dates and Venue Announced for 2025

The WordCamp Asia team has announced that the event will take place from February 20 to 22, 2025, at the Philippine International Convention Center in Manila, Philippines.

Similarly, following the conclusion of WordCamp Europe 2024, the dates for 2025 have been revealed. WordCamp Europe 2025 will be held in Basel, Switzerland, from June 5 to 7, 2025.

The dates for WordCamp Europe conflict with the popular Muslim holiday, Eid-ul-Adha, which is likely going to have an impact on attendance.

WordCamps are community-driven WordPress events organized globally, with dozens of events held in over 65 countries. WordCamp Asia, WordCamp Europe, and WordCamp U.S. are among the largest, attracting WordPress enthusiasts from around the world.

WordPress.org Plugin Directory Now Shows Up to 10 Million Active Installs

The WordPress.org plugin directory previously capped the active install count for plugins at 5 million. However, several plugins had install counts exceeding this cap.

The limit has now been raised to 10 million active installs. Plugins with the highest install counts can be viewed in the Popular tab on the WordPress.org Plugins website.

active plugin installs increased

Currently, only four plugins have over 10 million installs (Elementor, Contact Form 7, Yoast SEO, and Classic Editor), followed by WooCommerce (7M installs), Akismet (7M+ installs), and WPForms (6M+ installs).

All in One SEO Launched SEOBoost

Another big news from the team behind All in One SEO for WordPress was the launch of SEOBoost, an on-page SEO optimization tool.

It simplifies the content creation workflow, covering everything from keyword research and brief creation to content optimization and SEO audits.

SEOBoost website

Users can start with the topic reports, create content briefs, and optimize their content for higher rankings, all from the same dashboard.

The content optimization tool uses AI-powered analysis to help you create high-ranking content. It analyzes the top 30 ranking topics related to your keyword and identifies the most used and prominent keywords to add to your content.

SEOBoost is currently offering a 14-day free trial. Paid plans start at $22.50/month.

WordPress 6.5.4 and 6.5.5. Were Released

WordPress 6.5.4 was released as a maintenance and bug fix update. This update was rolled out because of a bug that prevented plugins from redirecting users upon activation.

WordPress plugins use this functionality to run onboarding wizards and help their users set up the plugins properly.

The fix was a collaborative effort involving teams from Automattic, Awesome Motive, Elementor, StellarWP, and other core team members.

WordPress 6.5.5 was a security release that included three security fixes, so it’s highly recommended to upgrade your site.

Hostinger Surpassed 100M Euros in Revenue

Hostinger (a popular WordPress hosting company) announced its financial results for 2023, with remarkable performance. The company’s total revenue increased by 57% year over year, reaching €110.2 million by the end of the year.

Hostinger’s CEO, Daugirdas Jankus, commented on the performance:

Each year, we are growing rapidly towards our ambitious goal of becoming the world’s No. 1 web hosting business. 2023 was no exception when we steadily grew our results. While we may look like a big business in our region, we still have a long way to go in the global market.

The company credits its success to new innovations that have expanded its customer base. For example, Hostinger is actively developing AI-enhanced products to simplify the online experience for its users.

WordPress 6.6 Beta Was Released

The beta version of WordPress 6.6 was released for testing. This release will feature new data views, overrides in synced patterns, a consistent publishing experience, and more.

For more details on this, you can see an overview of what’s coming in WordPress 6.6.

In Other News:

  • WPForms Introduced Repeater Fields – Repeater fields allow users to insert form fields as needed. For instance, they can be helpful if you are creating a booking form and want users to add multiple names to their booking. A repeater field allows users to just click on the (+) and add another name.
  • Joost de Valk has launched a new tool called Progress Planner to help website owners stay motivated and continue making progress.
  • The team at Sugar Calendar announced a full revamp of their Event Calendar plugin that allows you to display events on your site, sell tickets, and so much more.
  • MonsterInsights Released Site Notes Automation Addon – MonsterInsights’ new addon allows users to automate site notes using Uncanny Automator or a direct API. This enables users to automate site notes and save important information automatically.
  • Bluehost has launched an agency partner program providing access to discounts, free cloud hosting, priority support, and education.
  • Gravatar has announced the launch of Profiles as a Service, so now you can create a comprehensive online profile page with Gravatar.

That’s all for this edition of WPBeginner Spotlight.

We look forward to your feedback on enhancing and expanding this column. We also encourage you to send us any newsworthy items you want to see in next month’s column.

Please send us your suggestions or leave a comment below about what you would like to see here.

We will be back with more WordPress news next month.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post WPBeginner Spotlight 01 – Plugin Acquisitions, New Features + More WordPress News first appeared on WPBeginner.



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Wednesday, 26 June 2024

7 Best WordPress Support Agencies for 2024 (Expert Pick)

At WPBeginner, we receive many requests from readers asking us if we recommend any support agencies for WordPress maintenance and management services.

From our own experience of running multiple WordPress websites, we know that it can be tricky to handle everything behind the scenes. This includes keeping WordPress, plugins, and themes updated, fixing bugs and issues, optimizing your site for performance, and more.

This is where WordPress support and maintenance services come in handy. We’ve carefully hand-picked some of the best agencies you can hire to maintain your WordPress site. Plus, we’ve investigated the best options for all kinds of users, from small business websites to more complex sites.

In this article, we will show you the best WordPress support agencies you can choose for your business.

WordPress support agencies

Are you in a hurry and want to pick a WordPress support agency? Here’s a quick overview of the top agencies we’ve reviewed:

Agencies Focus 24/7 WordPress Support Starting Prices
🥇 WPBeginner Pro Maintenance Services Beginner & Intermediate Users $69 per month
🥈Seahawk Media E-Commerce & Business Websites $49 per month
🥉WP Buffs Complex Websites $79 per month
GoWP All Levels $39 per month
FixRunner Small Businesses $49 per month
WP Fix It All Levels $27 per month
TemplateMonster WordPress Themes & Plugins Limited $67 per month

How We Tested and Reviewed WordPress Support Agencies

Finding the perfect WordPress support agency can be overwhelming and frustrating. You need a reliable partner who understands your website’s complexities, offers responsive support, and fits your budget.

Here are some of the factors we considered in our rigorous testing process to ensure we recommend only the best WordPress support agencies for your website:

  • Features and Services: We evaluated each agency’s range of services, including core maintenance tasks like backups, security updates, and performance optimization. Additionally, we looked at more specialized services like plugin troubleshooting, theme customization, and on-demand support.
  • Expertise and Experience: A top-notch support agency should have a team of experienced WordPress developers and experts who stay current on the latest trends and updates. We reviewed the agency’s team profiles and ensured their expertise aligns with most new website owners’ needs.
  • Customer Support: Responsive and effective communication is super important. We reviewed each agency’s support channels (phone, email, chat) to gauge their response times, knowledge base accessibility, and overall helpfulness.
  • Pricing and Value: We compared pricing structures across different WordPress support agencies to ensure you get the best value for your budget. We also consider any additional perks or guarantees offered, such as uptime guarantees or money-back policies.

Why Trust WPBeginner?

At WPBeginner, we are a team of WordPress experts with over 16 years of experience in SEO, website development, design, troubleshooting, hosting, and more.

To recommend the best website WordPress support agencies, our experts researched and reviewed each option in detail. You can learn more about our in-depth review process on our editorial process page.

That said, let’s look at some of the best WordPress support and maintenance agencies.

1. WPBeginner Pro Maintenance Services

WPBeginner Pro Maintenance Services

WPBeginner Pro Maintenance Services is the best WordPress support agency you can choose from at affordable prices.

Whether you are a complete beginner or a time-strapped entrepreneur, our team of WordPress experts offers a variety of services to take your website to the next level.

For instance, our team will manage all the technicalities of your website, run cloud backups, monitor your site for security threats, keep plugins and themes updated, ensure core files are up to date, troubleshoot and fix issues, and offer 24/7 support.

In addition, you get on-demand development hours, during which an expert will help resolve urgent issues. Other Pro services include website design, SEO optimization, hacked website repairs, and site optimization for speed and performance.

You can see the complete list of WPBeginner Pro Services for more details.

Pros:

  • Over 16 years of experience helping over 100,000 users
  • Affordable pricing plans
  • 24/7 support and uptime monitoring
  • Comprehensive security monitoring
  • On-demand emergency support
  • Website speed and SEO optimization
  • Built customized websites
  • Repair hacked websites

Cons:

  • The maintenance plan cannot be transferred to another website
  • Comprehensive site speed optimization is only available in the highest maintenance plan

Why We Recommend WPBeginner Pro Services: For people new to WordPress or website management in general, we highly recommend WPBeginner Pro Services. We offer a comprehensive solution at affordable prices, with a focus on core maintenance tasks. This is ideal for keeping your website secure, optimized, and running smoothly without the technical hassle.

Pricing: WPBeginner Pro Services offers different services. For website support, you’ll need WordPress Maintenance & Support, with prices starting from $69 per month.

2. Seahawk Media

Seahawk Media

Seahawk Media is one of the best global WordPress service providers. They offer a wide range of services, including website support and maintenance. This is a great option for eCommerce store owners and complex websites that require custom development.

The agency performs cloud backups for your site, provides urgent support, uptime monitoring, theme and plugin updates, and more. The best part is that you get a dedicated account manager who will assist you with all the issues and concerns with your website.

We tested Seahawk Media’s services and were thoroughly impressed with their comprehensive approach. From initial design consultations to meticulous development and ongoing maintenance, their team handled everything professionally.

Pros:

  • Custom WordPress development services
  • Secure website migration services
  • Ongoing website care and maintenance
  • Dedicated account manager
  • 24/7 monitoring and WordPress support
  • Website optimization and growth services

Cons:

  • The support plan cant be transferred to a new site

Why We Recommend Seahawk Media: If you’re looking for a reliable and experienced partner to maintain and support your WordPress website, then look no further than Seahawk Media. Their well-rounded approach makes them a great choice for website design, development, growth, support, and maintenance.

Pricing: For website support, you’ll need the WordPress Maintenance and Care Services package, which starts at $49 per month. But if you require on-demand development, you can upgrade to higher-pricing plans.

3. WP Buffs

WP Buffs

WP Buffs is the next WordPress support agency on our list. They also offer a comprehensive WordPress management solution, including regular backups, 24/7 support, weekly updates, speed optimization, and more.

One feature that stood out while testing the service was the unlimited website edits. These include editing content, changing plugin settings, and adjusting CSS.

However, it’s important to note that on-demand content edits have limitations. They don’t include custom development, updating code, graphic design, or building a new site.

We were also impressed by the responsiveness and expertise of the WP Buffs support team. They consistently resolved our inquiries quickly and efficiently while providing all the basic WordPress support services.

Pros:

  • 24/7 website monitoring and security
  • Performance optimization
  • Plugin, theme, and core file updates
  • Core file and database backups
  • Expert 24/7 emergency support
  • Malware removal services

Cons:

  • On-demand content edits have limitations
  • May not be suitable for sites requiring extensive development work

Why We Recommend WP Buffs: WP Buffs offers a unique combination of features that provide peace of mind for website owners of all levels. We highly recommend them to users who have complex websites, such as a membership site or an eCommerce store, that require special maintenance attention.

Pricing: WP Buffs pricing plans start at $79 per month. A higher plan will get you priority support, speed optimization, and other extra features.

4. GoWP

GoWP

GoWP is another WordPress support agency you can hire to maintain your website. Their dedicated team of WordPress experts can handle all sorts of issues.

During our testing, GoWP impressed us with their comprehensive set of features. From automated backups and security updates to performance optimization and malware scanning, GoWP takes care of many of the behind-the-scenes tasks.

Some of the services you get include 24/7 support, plugin updates, security monitoring, malware cleanup, regular backups, and custom reporting. GoWP offers 24/7 content edits that include adding or editing blog posts and WooCommerce pages, editing menus and widgets, and more.

GoWP also offers outsourcing services where you can hire their team for WordPress maintenance and content edits. This way, you can partner with them and easily handle your client’s technical issues.

Pros:

  • Automated backups and security updates
  • Performance optimization and malware scanning
  • Dedicated developer, copywriter, and designer
  • 24/7 content edits
  • Detailed training resources and community forum

Cons:

  • Slightly expensive as you’ll need to pay extras for tasks that take 30 minutes or more
  • Dedicated services are costly for small businesses

Why We Recommend GoWP: If you’re looking for website support from a dedicated developer or looking to expand your business through outsourcing services, then GoWP is the best solution.

Pricing: GoWP offers a wide variety of services. Their maintenance service will cost $39 per month, while content editing service will cost $99 per month per site.

5. FixRunner

Fixrunner

FixRunner offers personal WordPress support to help you save time and money by maintaining your site. You get 24/7 support from a team of WordPress experts at affordable pricing.

While reviewing the agency, we found that they offer all the standard services you’d expect from a WordPress support service. For instance, you get speed optimization, cloud backups, uptime monitoring, security scanning, and more.

However, what impressed us the most was that you can contact them via multiple channels for support, including emails, live chat, tickets, and phone calls.

Pros:

  • 24/7 WordPress support
  • Security monitoring and malware removal
  • Multi-channel support options
  • Uptime monitoring and speed optimization
  • Regular cloud backups and core file updates
  • 30-day money-back guarantee

Cons:

  • No unlimited support time option
  • No free trial

Why We Recommend FixRunner: This is a perfect solution for all types of businesses. Their comprehensive support plans ensure your WordPress site stays secure, optimized, and up-to-date, freeing you to focus on running your business.

Pricing: FixRunner pricing plans start from $49 per month (billed annually).

6. WP Fix It

WP Fix it

WP Fix It has been in the WordPress support industry since 2009 and offers a wide range of services. You can hire an expert to fix issues, infection removal, speed optimization, website migration, and more.

The best thing about WP Fix we found was that it works for all types of websites. Whether you have a blog, eCommerce store, membership site, or corporate website, you will be able to benefit from WordPress support.

Pros:

  • Fast response times and efficient communication
  • Scheduled and automated cloud backups
  • Expertise in handling a wide range of WordPress issues
  • Control panel to manage and monitor websites
  • 24/7 availability for emergency website fixes

Cons:

  • Custom pricing plans can be expensive for small businesses

Why We Recommend WP Fix It: If you’re looking for an experienced WordPress support agency, then WP Fix It ticks all the boxes. However, if you require ongoing maintenance or complex development work, then you’ll need to choose another support agency on this list.

Pricing: WP Fix It offers a care plan at $27 per month. There is also an option to create a custom care plan.

7. TemplateMonster

TemplateMonster

TemplateMonster is a digital marketplace for website templates, plugins, and graphic design. It also offers website maintenance services for WordPress websites.

TemplateMonster’s subscription-based website maintenance service takes care of all the technical nitty-gritty for you. You get access to uptime monitoring, regular backups, website health checks, keeping everything up-to-date, and monthly reports.

While TemplateMonster Website Maintenance offers a comprehensive set of services, we did find that the level of customization was somewhat limited. For instance, you only get 5 developer hours every month.

Pros:

  • A wide range of website maintenance services
  • Uptime monitoring and security features
  • Website backups and updates
  • Regular reports and communication

Cons:

  • Limited developer hours
  • May not be suitable for highly complex websites

Why We Recommend TemplateMonster: If you’re looking for a cost-effective way to ensure your website is always up-to-date and functioning, then TemplateMonster Website Maintenance is definitely worth considering.

Pricing: TemplateMonster Website Maintenance prices start from $67 per month.

Which WordPress Support Agency Should You Choose?

After reviewing and testing different WordPress support agencies, we believe WPBeginner Pro Maintenance Services is the best option.

Our team of experts provides around-the-clock support, removes malware, monitors for security threats and downtime, provides regular backups, and performs routine updates.

The best part about using our services is affordable prices. Whether you’re just starting a site or have a complex website, our support services fit all kinds of businesses.

On the other hand, if you’re looking for support for eCommerce platforms, then you can try Seahawk Media Services. Alternatively, for complex websites, you can also give WP Buffs a try.

FAQs About WordPress Support Agencies

Here are some frequently asked questions about the best WordPress support agencies.

1. How much should website maintenance cost?

The cost of website maintenance depends on your needs and the type of website. If you require basic support like plugin and theme updates, backups, and security monitoring, it will cost between $30 and $70. However, if you have a complex site and require custom development, it can cost a lot more.

2. What are the benefits of using a WordPress support agency?

There are many benefits to hiring a WordPress support agency:

  • Saves you time and keeps your site up-to-date.
  • Offers expertise in security, performance, and troubleshooting.
  • Provides peace of mind knowing your site is in good hands.

3. Are there any free WordPress support options?

Different WordPress forums offer help from volunteers (mixed skill levels). However, they are limited to basic troubleshooting and may require technical knowledge.

Instead, you can hire a WordPress support and maintenance agency for personalized tasks and development. Most agencies also offer a free one-on-one call to understand your needs.

Additional Reading

We hope this article helped you pick the best WordPress support agency. You may also want to see our guide on common WordPress errors and how to fix them and coming soon vs. maintenance mode.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post 7 Best WordPress Support Agencies for 2024 (Expert Pick) first appeared on WPBeginner.



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